Cisneros is one of 3 candidates in the group's first batch of 2018 endorsements announced today. In a statement, Giffords notes he's a veteran and says Cisneros is ready to "move forward on measures like passing universal background checks."

Jan. 2, 2018, 5:26 p.m.

A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Paid signature-gatherers for a ballot measure that would repeal gas tax increases may be hard to find on the streets of California this week.

Organizers say it's not a money issue, adding that they needed to briefly halt paid signature-gathering to catch up on collecting petitions from volunteers.

The petition drive has so far collected more than 327,800 verified signatures of the 587,407 needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot, according to Dave Gilliard, the political strategist behind the drive.

Jan. 2, 2018, 2:37 p.m.

The front of the AB 60 license. (Courtesy: California Department of Motor Vehicles)

The California Research Bureau on Tuesday released its first report on incidents of discrimination under a 2015 state law that has provided driver’s licenses for hundreds of thousands of immigrants here illegally.

Researchers found no complaints have been made against government agencies tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws. But two possible instances of discrimination were reported in focus group interviews conducted by Drive California, a coalition of advocates studying the impact of the new law.

In one case, a woman in Fresno was told her license was not a valid form of identification at a retail store, though it was unclear “whether the incident reflected intentional discrimination or simple ignorance of the license marking,” the report states.

Jan. 2, 2018, 2:14 p.m.

More than half of hotel workers surveyed report being sexually harassed at some point. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Alarmed by a survey indicating sexual harassment of hotel housekeepers is widespread, a California state lawmaker on Tuesday proposed requiring employers to provide “panic button” devices to their employees so they can summon help if abused by a guest.

The bill to be introduced Wednesday by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) would also require individual hotels to impose a three-year ban on guests who engage in harassment on the property.

“We want to protect our most vulnerable women workers, hotel maids who are going into rooms alone, from sexual harassment,” said Muratsuchi, who co-authored the bill with Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward).

It’s up to a few thousand California Democratic Party delegates to decide whether the state party endorses candidates at its February convention in San Diego — a nod that could come with millions of dollars of support.

But this month, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman sent a letter to statewide candidates urging them not to seek the state party endorsement in February, prompting allegations that he was trying to silence dissenting voices. Bauman said his letter was simply meant to stave off disunity at the convention.

The dispute over endorsements is the latest battle between Bauman and those who backed his rival, Kimberly Ellis, in a bitter leadership contest in the spring that was decided by a handful of votes and resulted in a recount. Party delegates split into establishment and grass-roots factions, aligning themselves with Bauman and Ellis respectively, mirroring the divide among Democrats in deciding between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary.

Home to a quarter of California’s 5.2 million registered voters, Los Angeles County is the biggest prize in California’s 2018 race for governor.

For two hometown Democratic candidates especially — former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang of Torrance — doing well in L.A. County is essential if they hope to best the front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Yet this overwhelmingly Democratic stronghold continually bedevils even the most adept campaigns.

California officials are bracing for healthcare battles in Washington to have a major impact on the state’s budget and programs. Activists and politicians are planning a showdown over whether or not to establish a single-payer healthcare system in the state. And prescription drug manufacturers are the target of a number of bills meant to target the rising costs of medication.

Sound familiar? Turns out the brewing healthcare battles in California in 2018 aren’t all that different from those from 2017.

Jan. 2, 2018, 8:54 a.m.

With federal regulation rollbacks and a rise in data breaches, California lawmakers this year are looking for ways to protect consumers and their personal information.

Some legislation under consideration could give people more notice and control over what data is collected, without having to pay for privacy or better services. Other bills could provide free credit freezes for consumers and require new privacy features for products that connect to the internet.

Jan. 2, 2018, 8:41 a.m.

A new-home community in Anaheim in 2016 (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

California lawmakers aren’t wasting any time in tackling one of the most contentious issues in state housing politics this year.

On Jan. 11, the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee is set to hold a hearing on legislation that could lead to a dramatic expansion of rent control policies across the state.

The debate over rent control could spill over onto the 2018 ballot, where Californians also could see proposals to expand or curtail the property tax restrictions ushered in 40 years ago by Proposition 13.